Reading Response 10

There is some obvious gender inequality that occurs within the workplace. Economic roles between men and women have become somewhat similar over the years, however, sex differences are still prevalent and tensions still exist in the workplace. Women face different challenges and may require different skills to be successful in the work place than their male counterparts. These differences vary depending on the size of the organization, level of management, and the certain job duties that are entailed. According to Powell and Graves, “The proportion of women in the work place has increased five percent since 1980 whereas the number of women in management positions has increased 19 percent in the same period” (Powell & Graves, 2003). These numbers are improving and encouraging; however, research still shows that there is a gap between men and women regarding compensation for producing similar work. A statistic that I found most shocking within the text regarded women at the top corporate levels. It showed that women earn eight percent to 25 percent less than their male counterparts. It seems that in most categories, women lag behind men in advancement and pay. As I stated before, sex differences are most prevalent in the work force. Which factors play a role in most men becoming firefighters, doctors and police officers and women becoming nurses and teachers?

As I was researching information on women in the work force, I came across these two graphs…

Point 2) Men and Women: It’s Not About Sex Difference

Stereotypes of men and women are shown in the work place. As I learned previously, women tend to be more emotional than men. However, in the work place, it’s the men that show more emotion than the women. I would say that these “emotions” are not like women’s; they construct more of a masculine form of emotion. Emotions aren’t the only stereotype that’s different in the work place. According to the text, men engage in practices that are stereotypically attributed to women more than to men, such as wasting time talking to coworkers, pretending to like people they dislike, making decisions based on affect rather than objective evidence, and ignoring rules in favor of particularistic sentiments…When women coworkers socialize, they waste time; when men coworkers socialize, they advance their careers” (Martin, 2003). I find this to be so true because you see so many women who take breaks to mingle and gossip. Men construct “private meetings” to see how they can impact an organization so he can advance his career, meaning getting a better job and making more money. In regards to emotions, are women allowed to show REAL signs of emotion more than men, or are neither supposed to exploit these in the work place?

Point 3) Sexual Harassment

In and out of the work force, sexual harassment is prevalent and seen in a lot of situations. More so than not, men are typically the ones who initiate the sexual harassment. In a 2004 study, 85 percent of women filed a sexual harassment complaint to the EPOC (Equal Opportunity Employment Commission). I never thought sexual harassment was this bad in the work place until I came across this stat the text employed. “Most studies indicate that 40 percent to 70 percent of women and 10 to 20 percent of men have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace” (DeFrancisco and Palcweski 211). As much as 70 percent of women have been harassed?! This is appalling and disgraceful and something needs to be done. Action must take place within the EPOC to cut down on these percentages, or else, in my opinion, we will have nationwide news regarding this dilemma for years to come. Within these statistics however, I do not believe that the women have been actually “sexually harassed”. What I’m saying is that there could be different interpretations of being sexually harassed. So, what are certain situations that could be referred to as sexually harassed?